The main theoretical thrust of my project involves the political uses of parodically performing shame and shaming rituals in resisting normative regulation. I argue that parodic performances of this negative affect—traditionally deployed to erase, obscure, and regulate queers—can expose how shame regulates the gender/sexuality performances of straight people as well as queers. I view this project primarily as a tactical shift from the parodic performances outlined by Judith Butler in texts like Gender Trouble, and I feel that the shift is important as a counter measure to increasing homonormative inclusion of (white, middle class) gays and lesbians into straight or neoliberal society. The first section of my thesis is dedicated to exploring theories of homonormativity. I work primarily from Michael Warner’s The Trouble with Normal, which is a queer polemic, and Lisa Duggan’s The Twilight of Equality, which contextualizes homonormativity in the cultural project of neoliberalism. Homonormativity is, in essence, the opening of cultural space in mainstream society for a certain group of gays and lesbians—those who are “the most assimilated, genderappropriate, politically mainstream portions of the gay population” (Duggan 44). As Warner discusses at length, the shift from queer to conservative gay interests has shifted attention from issues like HIV/AIDS research and physical protection of queers to gay marriage and the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” which are causes that primarily benefit the gays and lesbians already most assimilated to straight culture. Section II focuses on the work of Judith Butler and other theorizations of parody. Butler’s theory suggests that gender and sexuality consist of a set of continuously repeated performances, and that by performing gender one is constituted as a subject. Butler argues that it is impossible to step outside gender—to stop performing, as it were —because there is no agency prior to the imposition of gender. She locates the only possibility for resistance to gender as a socially regulatory myth structure in the failure to properly perform gender, or in performing in such a way that gender is exposed as always already performative. I have paired Butler’s theory with Linda Hutcheon’s A Theory of Parody, which examines the uses, limitations, and value of artistic parody. These two theorists, of course, have different goals, which complicates the potential for combining their work. In the final section I develop my own theory, which largely takes its cue from Butler’s notion that we can resist gender/sexuality regulation through parodic performance. But, whereas Butler argues for parodic performances of gender/sexuality, I suggest the usefulness of parodying shame and shaming rituals. Shame—the social imposition of it, as well as the desire to avoid it—has long been a force maintaining proper behavior in the largest sense, but I am concerned specifically with the regulation of gender and sexual performances. Queers (understood broadly) and women have long been the targets of shame, while straight males have long been the performers of shaming rituals—mockery, brutal laugher, violence. What I suggest is that through an appropriation and parodic reinterpretation of these shaming rituals and shame itself, queers can expose the centrality of shame in repressing not only queer existence and performance, but in restricting the performative possibilities of straight people. This new notion of performative resistance is especially important as some gays and lesbians enter straight society and become subject to its shaming restrictions, but also become complicit in shaming those queers still outside the realm of homonormative possibilities

<p>Uppsatsen utgår från syftet att utforska queer femininitet och det sätt som icke-heterosexuella, feministiska tjejer förhåller sig till normativ och queer femininitet. Detta genomförs utifrån samtalsintervjuer, inriktade på hur dessa tjejer upplever samhälleliga och den lesbiska världens normer kring femininitet. Studien har Judith Butlers teorier kring genussubversivitet som utgångspunkt. Materialet tar upp femininitet som begränsande eller subversivt, det hårt reglerade normsystem som återfinns inom den lesbiska världen, butch/femme-fenomenet och bil-den av den icke-heterosexuella tjejen. Slutsatser som kan dras är att normer från den lesbiska världen, den feministiska sfären samt samhällsnormer i stort, alla kraftigt sampåverkar tjejernas förhållningssätt till femininitet. Respondenterna uttrycker att möjligheten till subversivitet hos queer femininitet och femme-positionen tycks finnas i att de, genom att utagera femininitet på icke-normativa ”felaktiga” sätt, kan förskjuta och destabilisera den traditionella inne-börden av femininitet.</p>

Uppsatsen utgår från syftet att utforska queer femininitet och det sätt som icke-heterosexuella, feministiska tjejer förhåller sig till normativ och queer femininitet. Detta genomförs utifrån samtalsintervjuer, inriktade på hur dessa tjejer upplever samhälleliga och den lesbiska världens normer kring femininitet. Studien har Judith Butlers teorier kring genussubversivitet som utgångspunkt. Materialet tar upp femininitet som begränsande eller subversivt, det hårt reglerade normsystem som återfinns inom den lesbiska världen, butch/femme-fenomenet och bil-den av den icke-heterosexuella tjejen. Slutsatser som kan dras är att normer från den lesbiska världen, den feministiska sfären samt samhällsnormer i stort, alla kraftigt sampåverkar tjejernas förhållningssätt till femininitet. Respondenterna uttrycker att möjligheten till subversivitet hos queer femininitet och femme-positionen tycks finnas i att de, genom att utagera femininitet på icke-normativa ”felaktiga” sätt, kan förskjuta och destabilisera den traditionella inne-börden av femininitet.

No description available.

This essay is investigating heterosexuality in Gun-Britt Sundströms Maken. With help from the queer theories of formost Judith Butler, but also to some extent the ideas of Michel Foucault, I have tried to answer the question of which norms are becoming clear and which are being broken in the novel. I have also looked at a few of Gayle Rubin’s opposites in her sexual value hierarchy. Some of the norms that are brought to light in the essay revolves around faithfulness, lust towards the ”right” person and for the ”right” reasons. I have shown that even though many of the norm’s that are being articulated in the novel are being crossed still they doesn’t lose their valaue and influence.

The switched-beam antenna is one type of the smart antennas, which consists of the antenna array and the beamforming network. The four-beam smart antenna generates four beams to cover a 120¢X area, which can be used to improve the carrier-to-interference ratio and the frequency reuse of a cellular system. Due to the attractive features of microstrip antennas such as low profile, easy fabrication, and low cost, we use microstrip antennas as array elements. In this thesis, we propose a novel four-beam beamforming network which consists of a 4¡Ñ4 Butler Matrix and four 180¢X power dividers. This network is able to provide low side-lobe level. A modified Butler Matrix not only simplifies the circuit of the 8¡Ñ8 Butler Matrix, but also meet the requirement of the original Butler Matrix. From the result of measurement, the side-lobe level of each beam of the modified Butler Matrix is less than ¡V10 dB. We also show that this method is applicable to any Butler matrix.

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Female apologetic behaviour in sport includes any behaviour by female athletes that emphasizes a female athlete’s femininity. This behaviour is in response to the masculine and/or lesbian stereotypes associated with female sport participation. This thesis analyzed the female apologetic within Canadian women’s rugby. Attention was paid to the relationship of level of competition, racial identity, sexual orientation and socioeconomic status with female apologetic behaviours. In-depth interviews with nine Canadian, female rugby players from various levels of competition, races and sexual orientations were conducted to explore these negotiations. Judith Butler’s idea of gender performativity was used as a research lens. The participants stated that they did not currently engage in any apologetic behaviour, and it was found that level of rugby, race, sexual orientation, and socioeconomic status did not impact female apologetic behaviours. Rugby was found to be a safe place for the participants to perform resistant versions of femininity.

Female apologetic behaviour in sport includes any behaviour by female athletes that emphasizes a female athlete’s femininity. This behaviour is in response to the masculine and/or lesbian stereotypes associated with female sport participation. This thesis analyzed the female apologetic within Canadian women’s rugby. Attention was paid to the relationship of level of competition, racial identity, sexual orientation and socioeconomic status with female apologetic behaviours. In-depth interviews with nine Canadian, female rugby players from various levels of competition, races and sexual orientations were conducted to explore these negotiations. Judith Butler’s idea of gender performativity was used as a research lens. The participants stated that they did not currently engage in any apologetic behaviour, and it was found that level of rugby, race, sexual orientation, and socioeconomic status did not impact female apologetic behaviours. Rugby was found to be a safe place for the participants to perform resistant versions of femininity.

The purpose of this study was to establish a deeper understanding of the educational needs of rural-based learners within the context of online learning opportunities. I hoped to ascertain whether rural learners' needs differ in terms of learning choices from that of their urban counterparts. This study was particularly focused on establishing a baseline for understanding community online readiness and identifying factors for how rural adults decide whether to participate in online-based learning.The participants in this study were selected from adults in established adult education courses, local churches, rural development clubs, and miscellaneous other civic organizations. Each participant was asked to complete a questionnaire that was a modified McVay Online Readiness Questionnaire (McVay, 2000). In addition, 4 local community leaders were selected for interviews. The selected interviewees were the County Judge-Executive, the mayor of the county seat, the Superintendent of Schools, and the director of adult and community education for the county. These leaders were asked questions designed to assess their understanding of current technological infrastructure to support broadband Internet, as well as, their willingness to encourage the support required for community transformation. Interview questions focused on how well leaders understand both the technological and the sociocultural dimensions of their community.The results were the identification of 7 interrelated themes that help explain the online readiness behaviors of rural adults in the selected county. The themes are: the Importance of Broadband Internet, the Attraction of Professionals to the Area, the "Missing Generation," Common Solutions and Working Together, Lack of Vision for Online Learning, Changing Cultures and Demographics, State and Local Government's Role and Regulatory Policy. Questionnaire responses are presented in this study as descriptive statistics and are representative of the county studied. The data collected from these questionnaires were used in collaboration with interview findings to arrive at conclusions. Key recommendations include: provisions for tax credits and other financial incentives to encourage Internet providers to increase coverage into rural areas; and improved collaboration between public and private stakeholders in an effort to address the digital divide. / Department of Educational Studies